our real estate is a great investment

[cross_and_bow]

"Welcome to Sunshine," says Juliet. "And to my front porch and whatever you do don't hit the light, it'll set Sherlock on fire."

Comments

[pythbox]

"Blood was shared," he says, looking at her overtop of his glasses. "In the usual vampire way, as far as sources can determine."

[cross_and_bow]

"Noted."

[she_sells_seashells]

"Does that only cause vampiring if the human in question is also dead?" asks Shell Bell.

[pythbox]

"It's not completely clear," he says. "The traditional method is for the human to drink some of the vampire's blood, and the vampire to drink all of the human's blood. We know that works. It's hard to make a reliable study of the edge cases."

[cross_and_bow]

Hm. Sherlock is still probably asleep. Juliet will ask him what he knows about edge cases later. It seems like the sort of thing that might become relevant later. She has no plans to drink any of his blood, but if there's any danger from the "tastes" she has allowed - well, he'd probably have told her, but she should ask regardless.

She goes back to her stalling hom- her official Slayer training. And then the bell rings, and Shell Bell invisibles and Juliet goes on to her next designated place-to-be.

They are back after school. "Mr. Giles, our estimate is that it'll take me a few months - let's call it six - of practicing with the fire wand a few times a week for a couple of hours each time before it'll be a good idea for me to use it in a live fire situation. In your opinion is it a good idea to prioritize that to get it into play sooner, or a better idea for me to spend less time on the wand and more on sparring with Sherlock and studying demons?"

[pythbox]

"...My instinct is to distrust the magic," he says. "But it's not necessarily a good instinct. Sparring with Sherlock, studying demons, and acquiring a powerful secret weapon are all important goals. I'm not immediately sure how exactly to prioritize them."

[she_sells_seashells]

"The only hazard of the wand is that you can set things on fire with it, which you handle by practicing near water," Shell Bell says. "I'm perfectly fine. Juliet'll be even safer because she'll have my squares if something does go wrong."

[cross_and_bow]

"Out of curiosity," says Juliet, "who would I be practicing fighting with if it were not for Sherlock? Do Slayers usually just get thrown directly at demons who want to kill them? I killed vampires exclusively with a crossbow and preemptive morgue staking until I met Sherlock for that reason." Pause. "Oh, Giles, did I tell you that I have covered the entire town of Sunnydale in hidden crosses that should make vampires find it vaguely unpleasant to be here? I don't think I told you that before."

[pythbox]

He blinks.

He opens his mouth.

He closes his mouth.

He cleans his glasses.

"Prioritize the fire wand over your other training," he says at last. "The answer to how you would be getting trained in combat without him is 'not nearly as well'."

[she_sells_seashells]

"I'm not sure I followed all the subtext there?" says Shell Bell.

[pythbox]

"I am ashamed on behalf of the Watcher's Council that none of us in a thousand years of strategizing for Slayers has thought of the obvious strategies this Slayer apparently comes up with in her sleep," Giles explains.

[cross_and_bow]

"I was awake. Also crossing the town took me a long while, I could only cover one neighborhood per night." Pause. "I also used to rinse my hair in holy water, but I stopped when I started letting Sherlock anywhere near my personal space. I still have water balloons of it though."

[pythbox]

"Water balloons," he repeats, shaking his head.

[cross_and_bow]

"Well, I wanted ranged weapons because I had no combat training and ranged means a few tries before screwing up kills you," she shrugs. "I haven't used them, so far everybody but Sherlock has gotten dusted while still out in crossbow range, which is good because the priests in the local churches were starting to look at me funny."

[pythbox]

...He snorts.

Then he laughs outright.

[cross_and_bow]

"And I was letting them assume I was Catholic, too," laughs Juliet, "wearing the crucifix outside my shirt and doing that crossing gesture thing - Please tell me that crucifixes are standard Slayer issue and you would've got me one or at least told me to get one if I hadn't already located and started wearing this?"

[pythbox]

"They are," Giles assures her.

[cross_and_bow]

"Okay, that's good, because if they weren't that would be really dreadfully negligent. Even if Sherlock proves that a vampire can with sufficent effort learn to find crosses not-aversive. They do still burn him and - not bother him, but repel him a little in a way he can ignore, so I take it off when we spar."

[pythbox]

"...I am never sure whether I should be reassured or terrified when you tell me something new about Sherlock."

[cross_and_bow]

"I think the happy medium between the two is being glad he's on our side?" offers Juliet.

[pythbox]

"That's where I usually settle," he agrees.

[cross_and_bow]

"He could've easily killed me but some combination of snarky banter and my clever trick with the crosses made him find me interesting, when we first met," shrugs Juliet. "So yeah. I did spend a while asking him if I'd get a head start if he ever found me boring, but I think he's in for the long haul, now."

[pythbox]

"How reassuring," he says dryly.

[cross_and_bow]

"Hey, when we met, I started shooting at him," Juliet says. "He's never actually moved to harm me. Or my dad even though my dad shot him once when Sherlock was saving his life. I think if there's any reason for mistrust at this point some of it would be aimed in my direction."

[pythbox]

"...Touché."